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Australian Rugby Union’s High Performance Unit General Manager David Nucifora says he is reasonably pleased with the outcome of a two-day conference in London to discuss the Experimental Law Variations (ELVs).
The International Rugby Board (IRB) meeting recommended that 10 of the 13 ELVs currently being trialled in the southern hemisphere should be permanently incorporated into the sport’s rule book.
However, it jettisoned a rule allowing mauls to be pulled down and another allowing teams to select their own numbers in lineouts.
There was also no agreement on the most contentious proposal – penalising most offences with a free-kick instead of a penalty – and it will be reviewed further.
“We were pleased with the outcome .. if someone had offered us 10 of the 13 global ELVs up front, you’d have to be pretty happy with that,” Nucifora said.
“The ones that we felt were important did get across the line.”
But Nucifora said he was disappointed with some of the attitudes towards any changes to the game by the sport’s northern hemisphere heavyweights.
“It’s fair to say the hardcore of the Six Nations countries were the ones that really struggled to get their heads around it but there are other countries in the north that are a bit more open-minded about them,” he said.
The maul issue was one of the biggest bugbears the northern hemisphere teams had with the ELVs.
But Nucifora denied it had disappeared from the game in the south.
“The frustration from our point of view was that the maul was never gone, and part of the charter of the game is for there to be a contest for possession and the maul in it’s old form, from our view, is an obvious obstruction whereas being able to pull the maul down makes it a contest,” he said.
“It doesn’t mean the maul is dead and that is what they have missed up there.
“If they let things evolve as we have down here, they will see the maul is coming into the game more and more as people get their head around the skills to create a maul now, and it will only become more prominent in a game as teams adjust.”
Although Nucifora admitted the conference was a “robust” affair at times, he said relations between the two hemispheres are not strained.
“Everyone is committed with what the result ends up being we are all not happy with the process that it’s gone through and the way it’s been managed,” he said.
“But when the final decision is made in the middle of May through to 2011, then we will just accept it and get on with it.
“The important thing to understand from this meeting is that it is only a recommendation onto the next level and it doesn’t guarantee anything either in or out.”
The current laws being used in the Super 14 competition will be implemented in this year’s Tri Nations tournament with the new laws to come into force.
The final recommendations will be drawn up by the Rugby Committee and then sanctioned by the IRB next month. They will come in to force from January 1 next year in the southern hemisphere and on August 31, 2010 in the north.
This means the forthcoming Tri Nations will be played under the current ELVs being used in this year’s Super 14 competition.
An International Rugby Board (IRB) conference has recommended 10 of the Experimental Law Variations (ELVs) currently being trialled be permanently incorporated into the sport’s rulebook.
Below is a list of those ELVs that have been given the green light and those which have been rejected ahead of the IRB’s rugby committee presenting its final proposals to the global governing body’s ruling council on May 13:ELVs recommended for adoption into law:
Law 6 – assistant referees allowed (re-naming of touch judges).
Law 19 – Kicking directly into touch from ball played back into 22 equals no gain in ground.
Law 19 – Quick (lineout) throw permitted in any direction except forward.
Law 19 – Positioning of player in opposition to the player throwing in to be two metres away from lineout and the line of touch.
Law 19 – Pre-gripping of lineout jumpers allowed.
Law 19 – Lifting in the lineout allowed.
Law 19 – Positioning of receiver must be two metres away from lineout.
Law 20 – Five-metre offside line at the scrum.
Law 20 – Scrum-half offside line at the scrum.
Law 22 – Corner posts no longer touch in goal.ELVs not recommended for adoption into law:
Law 17 – Maul – Head and shoulders not to be lower than hips.
Law 17 – Maul – Pulling down the maul.
Law 19 – Freedom for each team to determine lineout numbers.Sanctions and Free-kicks (subsidiary recommendation for further examination).
Tackle/ruck infringements (subsidiary recommendation for ruling in law to be sought by a union to clarify interpretation of current law).Union specific (rules which can be adopted by one country) ELVs recommended:
Up to 15 minutes’ half-time.
Rolling substitutions for community game.
Use of Under-19 variations at the scrum for community adult game where agreed by the union.Union specific ELV not recommended:
Protocol to extend the remit of the television match official.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.